Saturday, June 30, 2012

Today in Ireland the working class is of a fundamentally different
character than that of the Irish working class at the turn of the
century. This is because what is considered the Irish working class
consists of a large element that is ultimately parasitic on the
industrial working class. Much of the radical left represents the
interests of what Marx and Engels would describe as lumpen in character.
It seeks to protect the interests of the permanent and semi permanent
unemployed. Much of this stratum has no interest in being employed as
registered workers. They are under the naive illusion that capitalism
can eternally sustain a massive parasitic social stratum that in a sense
shares a commonality with the financial bourgeoisie. Both are
parasitic.

The working class at the turn of the century was much more impoverished
and deprived than it is today.There was no social welfare protection as
there is today. This meant that unemployed workers were generally
impoverished and eventually descended into the lumpen working class
--even died. Admittedly there was a section of the working class, some
craft workers, that was relatively privileged thereby experiencing a
more comfortable life style than that of the majority of the working
class. Indeed the working class has been and is composed of different
strata.

Today what is described as the Irish working class is of a different
character. Much of the working class work a three day week or don’t work
at all. But they and the so called low paid worker receive a basket of
benefits from the capitalist welfare state that bring their living
standards up to the level(and even beyond) of the higher strata workers
who, prima facie, appear to be better off. But much of this strata may
earn less revenue, in effect, than many of these workers from the lower
strata. This huge socially protected section of the working class works
little and is, in some cases at least, relatively affluent. This allows
them to lead a nice social life, have cars and go on holidays etc. This
section of the working class tends to have little interest in politics.
For them socialism already exists. It has no interest in revolution.
This is why there is only marginal interest and support for communist
politics. This "working class" tends to be vulgar, anti-intellectual and
ostentatious with little depth.

At the moment the surplus value wasted to financially support these
strata of the working class is coming from the EU and the world at large
including the higher strata of the Irish working class.Right now the
Irish state is borrowing billions of Euro to support this strata.Workers
from the Irish state sector have had their incomes and conditions of
work slashed to support the relatively leisured lifestyle of this semi
to fully employed workforce. Some of them have never worked an official
day in their life. They get rents subsidised, house purchases
subsidised, medical cards, cheap fuel, free baby buggies etc. Many of
them can work fifteen hours a week while still receiving their package
of state benefits. Some of them don’t even have to get the points
generally needed to qualify for university courses because they are
considered by the state as vulnerable. Many quangos are financially
supported by the state to promote the interests of this so called
vulnerable section of our society.

Figures for this state of affairs are not easy to acquire. This is
because there is an attempt to hide the extent of the problem from the
more highly motivated skilled section of the working class and even
middle class.There will never be revolution in Ireland while a mass of
people are given "bread and circuses" Much of this section too consists
of immigrants too.

Today there is a hidden and open censorship that denies us free speech.
If individuals draw attention to this reality they are attacked for
being extremely right wing, even racist and fascist. I am a communist
and am saying these things.I am convinced that a substantive communist
movement will never exist while this parasitism obtains in Ireland.
Future generations, our children and grand children, will have to pay
for this social parasitism. Because billions are being borrowed to pay
for this parasitism the current and future generations will have to
suffer by paying for "the vulnerable"in taxation.

I don’t attack social protection being dispensed to the genuine
vulnerable. In the Ireland of today the vulnerable are a small minority.
The government has actively supported this development as a means of
buying votes and keeping the masses well away from insurrection.